The present invention relates to a vehicle immobilizing system and method of using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle immobilizing system and method comprising a master and slave unit configured for wireless communication therebetween, wherein the slave unit is operably connected to operational components of a vehicle, such that, upon receiving a kill command from the master unit, the command causes the slave unit to shut down or change the state of the operational components.
Many people, especially persons living and working in high crime areas, must park or otherwise leave their vehicle unattended for long periods of time. In recent years, the theft of vehicles has continued to rise and have reached an estimated $4.3 billion in the United States alone. When a vehicle is stolen the financial cost is significant, but the psychological effect on the driver can be devastating, creating a sense of insecurity and fear. This is especially true in circumstances where the driver is ordered out of their vehicle under die threat of violence.
Some attempts have been made by vehicle manufactures and after-market producers to provide systems to mitigate these legitimate concerns of vehicle owners. However, these systems have several significant deficiencies such as requiring activation from a remote device with limited range, being easily disabled, and detracting from the proper functionality of the vehicle. For example, the ignition system of a vehicle's engine often includes an ignition switch in electrical communication with the positive terminal of an on-board a battery and with a sparkplug, that is in turn in electrical communication the negative terminal of the battery. As a user attempts to activate the vehicle engine, the ignition switch closes the circuit of the ignition system, causing the sparkplug to activate and the engine to activate. The previous attempts to disconnect the engine from the battery utilized wiring that risks draining the battery of electrical power. Further, the previous attempts require line of sight and fail to utilize wireless telecommunications networks for communicating. Additionally, the previous attempts fail to provide multiple disabling operational components of the vehicle simultaneously.
In one example, the present invention provides a kill mechanism, such as a bypass switch, that breaks the connection between the positive terminal of the ignition system, thereby preventing the unnecessary draining of electric energy from the battery. Also, the present invention renders many critical operational components necessary for the proper functioning of the vehicle. This can occur while the vehicle is in motion, slowly bringing the vehicle to a stop, or by preventing the vehicle from activating. The shutting down of one or more than one of these operational components makes identifying and tampering with the current system by an unauthorized user near impossible.
The present invention provides a master and slave unit configured to wirelessly communicate to each other via a wireless network, such as a telecommunications network, wherein the slave unit is operably connected to operational components of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the master unit comprises a trigger unit, wherein the trigger unit is an electronic device. Upon receiving a kill command from the trigger unit, the slave unit can shut down or change the state of the operational components. Additionally, the present invention also can bring attention to the vehicle by activating sound and light producing devices, such as a horn and lights. Further, the present invention may change the state of the locking mechanisms of the doors of the vehicle.
In light of the devices disclosed in the prior art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to remote vehicle disabling systems and methods of using the same. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.